WHO Issues Warning on Health Service Disruptions as Result of Development Assistance Reductions

The WHO has issued a warning on health service disruptions reported in 70% of its surveyed country offices “as a result of sudden suspensions and reductions in official development assistance (ODA) for health.”

The findings “raise concern for potentially deeper and prolonged effects on health systems and services across the world, especially in vulnerable and fragile settings.” A new rapid stock take was conducted in March and April with 108 WHO country offices, “primarily in low- and lower-middle-income countries,” and it showed that “many countries are working to increase or reallocate funding from domestic and alternative external sources to address gaps.” But “up to 24% of WHO Country Office responses suggest budget cuts are already translating into increased out-of-pocket payments.”

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that these cuts to aid are shocking but also “driving an accelerated transition away from aid dependency to a more sustainable self-reliance, based on domestic resources.” Many countries are asking WHO for support.

Some of the key findings of the stock take report include that “suspensions and reductions in ODA are disrupting all health system functions, with the most frequently reported impacts being on health emergency preparedness and response (70%) [and] public health surveillance (66%); “health services are being disrupted across the board in at least one third of the responding countries;” and “the nature and scale of service disruptions are comparable to those observed during the peak periods of the COVID-19 pandemic.”